"Being unwanted, unloved and uncared for, forgotten by everybody. I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than a person who has nothing to eat"- Mother Teresa
I have been to 3 continents so far on this journey. The children are the same in one aspect. They need love. I can see it in their eyes; the hurt, pain and sadness they are experiencing. That is the only place I see it. They have the smiles that light up your day when you are around them. They run towards you like you are handing over a piñata of candy. They want the affection, the hugs and kisses. They long for them. Some are so unwanted, unloved and not cherished you can see it when they try to touch you, hug you and want you to pick them up.
"God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is in the silence a mother who has infected her child with a virus that will end both their lives. God is in the cries heard under the rubble of war. God is in the debris of wasted opportunity and lives, and God is with us if we are with them"
Tanzania
And I know this because I have been there. To the slums of India and Malaysia, the aftermath of the genocide in Rwanda, the huts in Vietnam and Cambodia and the mud and cardboard homes in Kenya and Tanzania. All they own is hoarded into one side of the room while they sleep on the other side and cook outside. I have even seen in Kenya what damages a flood can do over three hours because a home is on the edge of a mountain. On April 26, 2013 there was a flood in Kijabe, Kenya that washed away a home. The home had three children in it that died immediately. The home was not properly placed on the land and slid off of the mountain when the rain came. The day before I had been with those three children and 50 others building them a sea-saw during parents week while others built bunk beds and a mud home. They were gone. I still remember what they were wearing, the smiles on their faces and the joy they found through us spending time with them. Little did they know I found the same joy when I saw Jesus in them.
Some of them have more responsibly then I do at the age of 24. 8 years old a girl is to take care of her 5, 4 and 2 year old siblings because their mother has left the home. A 14 year old girl is to wed someone who her parents arranged for her to be with. At the age of 14 she now takes on being a wife. A 10 year old boy has to quit his education to help provide for his family. Children all over the world do not go to school because of the family not being able to afford school fees. I have seen it and I have lived with these children.
India
In America most children are fortunate to not have to wander if they are loved. At times, and I know this from being a teenager, that I questioned if I was loved because of the actions my parents did to punish me. That was silly. They punished me because they loved me and cared for me. If you are a parent, an adult around children or someone leaving the country I challenge you to take the opportunities that God gives you to be around children. They are bright and amazing to be around. GIve them a hug, a kiss or spend time with them. That may be the only hug or kiss they get the entire day. If you work at a daycare or babysit children love on them because you do not know where they come from or what affection they have received that day. People in America I am telling you if you do nothing else today please hug a child.
" Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth." Pslam 127: 3-4
Enjoy pictures of children all over the world I have been blessed by.
Malaysia
Australia
Vietnam
Cambodia
India
Nepal
Rwanda
Kenya
Tanzania
P.S I leave May 31st for Europe. I continue this journey in Ukraine and then off to Romania. Please pray for me as I continue to love on children all over the world. I walk on the American property July 31st! I will be home in Chattanooga at 11:20am on August 1.
